The stage musical adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! will receive its premiere engagement at Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre prior to a Broadway transfer. The musical will mark the official reopening of the Colonial; in September 2015, Emerson College announced it would close the historic venue—the birthplace of such shows as Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, and Follies—with potential plans for its future including converting it into a dining hall (this proposal was later scrapped). The U.K.- based Ambassador Theatre Group announced its acquisition of the theatre earlier this year.

Through collaboration with Elkus Manfredi Architects and Consigli Contracting Co., the renovation pays homage to the building’s original 1900 design while also introducing modern back-of-house technology and efficiencies, allowing the venue to welcome a diverse array of programming.